The present invention relates to a composition including neural cells and an elastin-like polypeptide for treating Parkinson's diseases. More particularly, the present invention relates to a composition for treating Parkinson's diseases capable of more effectively increase a survival rate and settling rate of neural cells, which are transplanted to an acutely or chronically damaged nerve region to treat Parkinson's disease, by simultaneously administering neural cells with an elastin-like polypeptide.
Parkinson's disease is an incurable disease which causes motor disturbance, as dopamine-secreting neural cells get damaged. Although a therapeutic method using embryonic neural cell transplantation exists, it is difficult to secure a massive amount of cells, and there is a problem of a significantly low settling rate of transplanted cells and a survival rate of the settled cells. Thus, a method for increasing transplantation efficiency of transplanted cells has been actively studied.
For treatment of the Parkinson's disease, an optimal selection to optimize a microenvironment of living cells may become the case where cells are simultaneously transplanted with extracellular matrix (ECM) directly extracted from tissue of a damaged organ of an animal. However, there are drawbacks in which a specimen of derived ECM is complicate; there is limitation in high yield and mass production; and a cost is high. In addition, since in vivo derived ECM is most likely to cause an immune response, an unpredicted immune rejection response may occur in the case of in vivo transplantation. An immunosuppressant, which is used to suppress the immune rejection response, leads to concern about secondary infection. Therefore, a use of naturally occurring ECM with cells may be considered restrictive.
It has been known that TGPG[VGRGD(VGVPG)6]20WPC multiblock biopolymer (REP) (SEQ ID NO: 3) is effective in tissue regeneration, wherein the REP is prepared by repetitively fusing elastin valine-glycine-valine-alanine-proline-glycine (VGVPG) pentapeptide (SEQ ID NO: 1), which is one of elastin-like polypeptides (ELPs), and arginine-glycine-aspartate (ROD) ligand (Positions 3 to 5 of SEQ ID NO: 4) (Jeon et al., J. Biomed. Mater Res. A., 97:152, 2011; Korean Registered Patent No. 1350900). One of advantages of REP is a response to changes in temperature, wherein the solubilized REP disrupts a coacervate into hydrophobic materials at a temperature equal to or above a particular transition temperature (Ts).
Korean Registered Patent No. 1350900, which is one of the typical techniques, discloses a biomimetic multiblock biopolymer for tissue regeneration and a tissue regenerating method using same.
As a result of constitutively trying to improve a therapeutic effect of neural cells on Parkinson's disease, the present inventors have complete the present invention by studying a potential of a matrix of an REP, and by identifying an effect of increasing a settling rate and survival rate of neural cells transplanted to an acutely or chronically damaged neural region when the REP and neural cells are administered together.